Leeds United defender Diego Llorente has revealed he was left with little to think about when the club presented their offer to him in the summer.
Llorente arrived at Elland Road in an £18m deal from Real Sociedad in the summer, with Marcelo Bielsa keen to fill the hole left by Ben White returning to Brighton.
After a difficult first half of the season hampered by injuries, he’s become a key player for Leeds in the second half of the season, regularly featuring since the turn of the year.
The move to England was a big one for Llorente, who had spent the entirety of his career in Spain before then, first rising through Real Madrid’s youth ranks before establishing himself as a key player at Real Sociedad.
He had regularly been linked with a move away from La Real since joining in 2017 but never took the step until Leeds came calling with an impressive presentation.
“I was focused on Real Sociedad when the offer from Leeds arrived, and I met with Victor Orta,” he told MARCA.
“They showed me the style of play and how my characteristics could be adjusted… When I left the presentation, I had little to think about.
“I had always dreamed of playing in the Premiership, and in other years I had had offers, but I wanted to take the right step and this time it was clear.
“Besides, Leeds is a historic club that since years ago has not been able to be where it deserves to be, but that has a very ambitious project.”
One of the big plus points from the move to Leeds was the chance to link up with Marcelo Bielsa.
The Argentine has earned rave reviews at Elland Road since his arrival in 2018 and has continued to impress this year with Leeds back in the Premier League.
While he has many fans in Yorkshire and indeed England, he remains a coach that splits opinion firmly down the middle, with former players either loving or hating him.
Llorente falls firmly into the loving camp, explaining that everything he had been told beforehand was nowhere near enough.
“I had some references about him, but everything they can tell you is an understatement,” he added.
“He is a very meticulous coach, very rigorous and very passionate in everything he does.
“In terms of expressing his passion and his style of play, I have never had a coach who has done it so well or with such frankness.
“I know he is a coach who is going to mark me, and I try to learn as much as possible on and off the pitch.”
